AJJ have shared a second song off their upcoming album Good Luck Everybody (due 1/17), following opening track “A Poem.” New single “Mega Guillotine 2020” sounds like a swaying, cheerful ballad (with some bells that sound festive this time of year), but there’s an obvious winking irony in the lyrics about the sad, scary times we live in. Listen below.
As mentioned, AJJ will also be touring in 2020, including one leg with Seattle indie-punks Tacocat, one with the great Xiu Xiu (who will be joined by Shearwater’s Jonathan Meiburg), and all dates with bedroom pop vet Emperor X. The leg with Xiu Xiu and Emperor X hits Brooklyn on 5/27 at Music Hall of Williamsburg (tickets). All dates are listed below.
As the year is coming to a close, we also asked AJJ what their favorite albums of 2019 were, and bassist Ben Gallaty sent us his list, which does include his favorite album of 2019, but it’s not your average year-end list. It also includes his favorite book, concert, and movie of 2019, it already includes his favorite album of next year, and it includes other superlatives like “best hot sauce of all time” and “my 6 ½ year old daughter’s favorite song of 2019.” Check out his full list below.
Ben Gallaty’s superlative list, 2019 edition
Best book from 2019 – Lost Children Archive by Valeria Luiselli
Best show that I saw in 2019 – Dear Nora, French Quarter & Frankie Cosmos
Best Movie of 2019 – Us
Most troubling movie of 2019 – The Joker
My 6 ½ year old daughter’s favorite song of 2019 – “Bad Guy” by Billie Eilish
Most unexpected thing of 2019 – A$AP Rocky being mentioned in congressional impeachment hearings
Most expected thing of 2019 – congressional impeachment hearings
Best Record of 2019 – Remind Me Tomorrow by Sharon Van Etten
Best record of 2020 – Leisure World by Diners
Most second best record of 2020 – Good Luck Everybody by AJJ
Best hot sauce of all time – El Yucateco Carribean
Scariest – Mark Zuckerberg
Greediest – Jeff Bezos
Dumbest idea of the decade – ride sharing
Best idea of the decade – Naked Chicken Chalupa by Taco Bell®
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AJJ — 2020 Tour Dates
Fri/Jan-24 Tucson, AZ 191 Toole
Sat/Jan-25 El Paso, TX Lowbrow Palace
Mon/Jan-27 Dallas, TX Trees
Tue/Jan-28 Austin, TX Mohawk
Wed/Jan-29 Houston, TX White Oak Music Hall
Thu/Jan-30 Baton Rogue, LA Spanish Moon
Fri/Jan-31 Pensacola, FL Vinyl
Sat/Feb-01 Orlando, FL The Abbey
Mon/Feb-03 Atlanta, GA Masquerade
Tue/Feb-04 Charlotte, NC Amos’
Wed/Feb-05 Durham, NC Motorco Music Hall
Thu/Feb-06 Nashville, TN Basement East
Fri/Feb-07 Asheville, NC Grey Eagle
Sat/Feb-08 Memphis, TN Growlers
Sun/Feb-09 Tulsa, OK The Vanguard
Tue/Feb-11 Albuqurque, NM Launchpad
Wed/Feb-12 Flagstaff, AZ Green Room
Thu/Mar-19 San Diego, CA Soma Sidestage
Fri/Mar-20 Los Angeles, CA The Regent
Sat/Mar-21 San Francisco, CA Slim’s
Sun/Mar-22 Reno, NV Holland Project
Tue/Mar-24 Portland, OR Bossanova Ballroom
Wed/Mar-25 Seattle, WA The Crocodile
Thu/Mar-26 Boise, ID Treefort
Fri/Mar-27 Salt Lake City, UT Urban Lounge
Sat/Mar-28 Denver, CO Oriental Theater
Sun/Mar-29 Colorado Springs, CO Black Sheep
Tue/Mar-31 Phoenix, AZ The Pressroom
Wed/May-20 Minneapolis, MN Varsity Theater
Thu/May-21 Chicago, IL Metro
Fri/May-22 Pittsburgh, PA Mr. Smalls
Sat/May-23 Toronto, ON Opera House
Mon/May-25 Boston, MA The Sinclair
Wed/May-27 Brooklyn, NY Music Hall Of Williamsburg
Thu/May-28 Philadelphia, PA Union Transfer
Fri/May-29 Washington, DC Black Cat
Sat/May-30 Detroit, MI The Shelter
Sun/May-31 Cleveland, OH The Grog Shop
Tue/Jun-02 Columbus, OH Skully’s Music Diner
Wed/Jun-03 Lexington, KY The Burl
Thu/Jun-04 Grand Rapids, MI Pyramid Scheme
Fri/Jun-05 St. Louis, MO Ready Room
Sat/Jun-06 Madison, WI Majestic Theatre
all dates with Emperor X
Jan/Feb dates with Tacocat
Mar-June dates with Xiu Xiu